U.S. Soccer Federations & FIFA Exec Committee Member Sunil Gulati said that the pay equity issue between men and women's football "could be solved by making the women's game a much bigger business," according to Paul Nicholson of INSIDE WORLD FOOTBALL. Gulati said that there needed to be more women representation "in the higher levels of the administration of the sport, and that generally in the women's game the U.S. has been a leader." The debate over pay equity "ignited at the Women's World Cup this year in Canada" where the U.S. women's team won $2M for becoming world champions, compared to the $35M won by the German men in Brazil in '14. Gulati: "We all understand the years of discussion regarding women and this issue." But he also said that more women "need to make it up the administration ladder." Gulati added, "There needs to be more representation in the leadership. 30% (female) participation in the corporate boardroom changes the dynamic for the better." The numbers of females in top positions at FIFA "is nowhere near that level," though Gulati said that it is "better in the USSF." In looking for solutions to the pay equity issue, Gulati said that there is a "need to make it a bigger business." In the U.S., women's football already is a "big business with 40-45% of registered players in the U.S. girls" (INSIDE WORLD FOOTBALL, 11/5).
